Golf Clubs and Velour Tracksuits
by UnaVitaSegreta
Summary: Just another little oneshot about Emily & Richard. It is set during Richard's recovery in S7.


"You're a Smith girl?" he asked. They stood in the doorway to his office.

"Yes, I am." That made her laugh. "Or rather I was," she added. "I don't think I'd describe myself as a 'girl' anymore."

"We're only as old as we feel," he countered.

Emily laughed. It had been a while since she'd laughed. It had also been a while since she had been complimented by a man. Normally she would feel uncomfortable, yet there was something about Dr. Goldstein that prevented her from finding any inappropriateness in his comments.

"Did you know Brigit McElroy?" he asked. "She was my sister's best friend. They lost contact many years ago"

"Know her? I was her roommate for two years!"

"What a small world…" Emily laughed again. He was charming and what a great personality. "Have you seen her lately?"

Emily was silent for a moment. Dr. Goldstein watched her face. He sensed that something wasn't right. However, he couldn't help but notice her striking features. To be a woman of sixty she was gorgeous. Her skin was nearly flawless. Sure, there were a few wrinkles around the eyes and some fine lines that no woman could escape. Yet somehow that only enhanced her beauty. "She died a few years ago. She had a stroke."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." He reached out his hand, touching her elbow. Emily looked up at him with a sad smile.

Richard stood at the other end of the hallway watching his wife and his cardiologist. At first, he had started to walk towards them. However his pace slowed down as he noticed the ease of their conversation. He could feel his blood pressure rise as Emily dipped her head back to laugh at something Dr. Goldstein had said. The way she touched his arm when she spoke. He didn't like what he saw. They were too comfortable with each other.

As he approached them, they abruptly stopped their conversation.

"Richard, you're back." Her tone was flat, like it had been for the past few weeks. She seemed a different woman than the one who had stood here seconds ago laughing with his doctor.

"Well, I should go and tend to my other patients. I'll let you know as soon as we get the results from your bloodwork. However, everything looks fine to me. Just stay on the medications and keep eating healthy."

"He will, Doctor. I'll see to it," Emily promised with a smile.

"I know you will." They smiled at each other again. "Good day, Richard." He reached out and shook Richard's hand. Richard couldn't help but notice what a weak handshake the man had. He hadn't noticed it until now. Dr. Goldstein then turned towards Emily. Instead of shaking her hand, too, he reached out to touch her shoulder. "Thank you for telling me about Brigit." Emily nodded.

Richard watched the man's hand on his wife. He once again felt his blood pressure rising. To be so forward with his wife right in front of him!

"Let's go, Richard," Emily commanded, already walking past him to the exit. The moment Dr. Goldstein left it felt like her personality had disappeared, too.

They rode home in silence. Emily couldn't quell her annoyance over the fact that even with a nearly clean bill of health Richard could still be acting in the same manner as he had been for weeks now. She parked the car in their driveway and didn't even bother to see if her husband needed help before she walked towards the house.

They ate dinner in silence, too. Richard picked at his food that had been prepared by one of the cooks Sookie had suggested.

After what felt like an eternity, Emily finally spoke up. "I've had enough of this!" She threw her napkin on the table and pushed her chair back. "I don't know what has happened to my husband these past few weeks, but when you find him, let me know. I'd like to have him back." Emily walked towards the door.

"Oh would you?" Richard asked, turning his upper body to look after her. Emily came to a stop in the doorway. Her back was to him but he could see her stiffen.

"And what exactly does that mean?" she asked, turning around. She was angry. He could tell that just from the look in her eyes.

"Oh come on, Emily. I saw you with Dr. Goldstein today. You couldn't stop laughing and smiling. Then the moment you saw me approaching you turned back into the woman you've been for weeks now." Richard pushed himself from his chair, standing up to face her.

"Me? The woman _I've_ been?" She was exasperated by his accusations. He was the one who had been acting like a child. How dare he try and turn this on her!

"You've been cold and distant and unattached for weeks," he argued.

"Because you've been acting like a child for weeks, Richard!" Her arms and hands were rather animated as she spoke. "I'm not allowed to upset you, so I have to just live with your golf tournaments interrupting dinner. Your twenty year old, recorded golf matches! I also have to live with the fact that there is a TV next to our bed. Or maybe it's starting to get to me being woken up at three in the morning when you're cheering on some man with a putter in his hands. It might also be the fact that you dress like an Italian mobster or that you constantly keep rubbing your hands over your velour track suit as if you think that is attractive. And I'm supposed to, what, be turned on when you call me 'Mother'?"

"I called you mother one time," he corrected her. He made a motion with his hand. "One time, Emily."

"I'm well aware of that, Richard. It doesn't make it any less annoying!" Her voice rose higher on the last word as she clenched her fist, her arms down by her sides.

"I had a heart attack, Emily. I'm entitled to a bit of change."

Emily huffed, annoyed by his excuses. "I know that, Richard, but I'm fed up with all of your gripes and your mood swings and your childish behavior! When people nearly die, they make positive changes. All you've done is act like a spoiled teenage boy!" She threw her arms up in the air. "I'm tired of it, Richard!"

"So you've turned to my cardiologist instead?"

Emily suddenly fell silent, stiffening her body. "What?" He could see the anger in her eyes. And the confusion.

"Come on, Emily. It was blatantly obvious." He crossed his arms over his chest, daring her to refute this claims.

"You're insane, Richard." She didn't bother listening to anything else he had to say. Turning around, she left the dining room, walking into the foyer.

"We are not finished discussing this, Emily!" He followed her into the living room.

"Get away from me," she snapped, twisting her upper body to look back at him as she walked to the living room.

"We are in the middle of a discussion. You cannot just walk away from me!" He continued to follow her until she stopped in the living room, standing behind the couch.

"I can't believe we're even discussing something so absurd! You seriously think there is something going on with me and your doctor? The man is at least fifteen years younger than I am!"

"You looked quite comfortable with each other today."

"Yes, he's a very nice man. I went to school with his older sister. He showed an interest in me, which is something that you haven't done in a very long time." She raised her eyebrows, challenging him.

"And that makes it appropriate? I haven't been attentive lately and so you turn to another man."

Emily sighed heavily, walking around him to the bar. "There is nothing inappropriate going on, Richard." She reached for a bottle on the bar, forgetting that it was all nonalcoholic.

"I'm sorry that I've been too busy dealing with my recovery to shower you with attention."

"I'm not asking you to shower me with attention, Richard. I'm just asking that you realize that you aren't the only one going through this." Her tone was now one of sadness, but Richard was too wrapped up in himself to notice the change in his wife. Emily took a sip of the drink. It wasn't what she expected. It had no sting to it.

"If I agree to be more aware of your feeling, you'll stop seeing him?" he asked.

Emily rolled her eyes. This was insane. "I'm not seeing him, Richard. I've met the man three times. The first time was during your heart attack. Then when we went to his office to discuss your course of treatment. And finally today. Every time that I have met him has been with you. That is not 'seeing him', Richard."

He huffed, as if he didn't believe her.

"You're being paranoid." Emily put her drink down with a loud clink. This was ridiculous and she was not going to stand around and listen to his paranoid accusations. She was about to walk out of the room, but suddenly stopped in the doorway. "Oh my God." She raised her hand to her mouth to cover the small smile that was forming. "Are you jealous?" she asked, turning around to face him. It hadn't occurred to her until just now.

"I … I … I am no such thing," he protested. Emily smirked at the sight of Richard trying to defend himself. He was actually jealous. After so many years she knew him too well. She had caught him. And she couldn't help that it made her heart beat faster. He had shown no interest in her other than asking her to retrieve his lost items for what seemed like forever now. Yet here he was and he was jealous!

"You are." She moved closer to him. "Richard Gilmore, you are jealous." She didn't even bother to hide her smile.

"That is absurd." Richard lifted his head, refusing to look at her.

Emily came to a stop in front of him. She raised her head, looking up at him until he met her gaze. He couldn't lie to her when she looked at him like that.

"Well, perhaps I am … just a bit," he finally conceded.

Emily smiled. She placed her hands on his chest, sliding her hands up to his neck to pull him forward so that she could kiss him. Pulling back, she felt his hands resting on her hips. "We talked about Smith. He asked if I knew Brigit. I told him that she died. That's all." She kissed him again. "I promise."

"You know, he gave me a clean bill of health," Richard hinted.

Emily titled her head to the side. "He did, didn't he?" she smirked. Reaching for Richard's hand, she pulled him along behind her as she walked towards the stairs.

* * *

_Author's Note: Many thanks to **Cira **for being such a great beta!_


End file.
